Hose straightening fixture

ABSTRACT

A fixture for holding curved rubber hose so that the ends thereof are substantially aligned comprising a pair of spaced members each of which is formed in the vertical plane in the configuration of an arc with said members having the same axis and a third member which is also arcuate in the vertical plane and which in the horizontal plane is in the configuration of a wedge, said third member being relatively movable toward and away from said spaced members whereby the point of the wedge can intercept the axis of the spaced members and press against a hose outside curvature to reverse the curvature of the hose.

United States Patent 1 Percich HOSE STRAIGHTENING FIXTURE inventor:Phillip P. Percich, Worthington,

U.S. Cl. ..269/269, 29/200 P Int. Cl. ..B25b 1/24 Field ofSearch...29/200 R, 200 B, 200 J, 200 P,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Woodrum .269/269 Johnson ..29/200P [451 Feb. 13, 1973 Primary Examiner-Robert C. Riordon AssistantExaminer-Neil Abrams Attorney-Kane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan & Kurucz[57] ABSTRACT A fixture for holding curved rubber hose so that the endsthereof are substantially aligned comprising a pair of spaced memberseach of which is formed in the vertical plane in the configuration of anarc with said members having the same axis and a third member which isalso arcuate in the vertical plane and which in the horizontal plane isin the configuration of a wedge, said third member being relativelymovable toward and away from said spaced members whereby the point ofthe wedge can intercept the axis of the spaced members and press againsta hose outside curvature to reverse the curvature of the hose.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEB FEB] 3197a SHEET 1 0f 3 INVENTOR PP PEBC/ h ATTORNEYS 2 PATENTEDFEBI 3191a SHEET 2 OF 3 INVENTOR P/l/l/P 2P5200;

BY @M a,%.. v

ATTORNEYS HOSE STRAIGIITENING FIXTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Incoupling train cars together a short piece of hose is used havingcoupling members at either end thereof. In the art, one of thesecoupling members is called a glad hand" and the other is identified as ashort shank coupling. Historically the hose member was straight.However, it was found that a hose member of arcuate or curvedconfiguration would be superior since the arcuate shape would preventthe free end from dragging on the ground when the car was not coupled toanother, and also the arcuate form would allow easier coupling of thefree end.

In use, the hose wears out, however, the glad hand and short shankcoupling members do not. The railroad maintenance men would, upondetermining by inspection that a hose had reached the condition where itwas no longer useful, remove the coupling members and apply these toanother hose. The common practice was to push the glad hand and shortshank coupling members into the hose ends by force of cylinders appliedaxially one against the other. Difficulty was therefore encountered inmaintenance shops in fitting the glad hand and short shank coupling tothe arcuate tube. With the curved hose it was impossible to press thecoupling members into the ends by application of force applied axiallyat each end. The hose being very rigid, it was found impossible tostraighten it out.

A fixture for holding curved rubber hose in a substantially straightcondition was developed. This fixture had first and second facingarcuate pipe members, the second pipe member being movable toward andaway from the first pipe member, and a plurality of spaced knob membersprojecting from the movable pipe member in the direction of the rigidpipe member so that in use the knobs could press against the outsidecurvature of a hose in the fixture to reduce the distance of the same tothe inside curvature. This prior art device is disclosed and claimed inUS. Pat. No. 3,561,750.

While the hose straightening fixture which is the subject of U.S. Pat.No. 3,561,750 solved many problems and represented an important step inthe art, it has been found that an improved hose straightening fixturesuch as that disclosed herein is superior and more desirable than thatdisclosed heretofore for reasons which will appear below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A device for holding curved rubber tubing sothat the ends thereof are substantially aligned including a pair ofspaced members having arcuate surfaces formed on a single axis, athirdmember having an arcuate surface in facing relationship with the arcuatesurfaces of said spaced members, said third member being relativelymovable toward and away from said spaced members and wedge shaped in theplane of the axis of said spaced members whereby the point of the wedgecan press against the curved outer surface of said tubing to reverse thedirection of curvature thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art device for holdingthe rubber tubing while the coupling members are affixed thereto;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a fixture constructed inaccordance with the teachings of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fixture shown in FIG. 2 in open condition;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 but with the fixture shown inclosed condition;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in the direction ofthe arrow in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 in the direction ofthe arrow in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1 a prior art fixture of the typeused in affixing the coupling members to the end of a straight hose isshown. Hose 10 is to be held in position by arcuate pipe members 11 and12. Pipe member 11 is supported in a stationary position by supportmeans 13 and pipe member 12 is supported by clamping cylinder 14 towhich it is connected by means of bracket 15. Cylinder 14 is constructedand arranged to move the pipe member 12 toward and away from pipe member11 to enable the clamping of hose 10 thereby. This cylinder can bepneumatic, hydraulic, or any combination or variation which is wellknown in the art.

Guide means in the form of three rods l6, l7 and 18 project from thefirst support means 13 beneath pipe members 11 and 12.

Cylindrical knobs 19, 20 and 21 project from the arcuate surface of pipemember 12 toward the arcuate face surface of pipe member 11. The knobs19, 20 and 21 which have the same axis are spaced one from another anddo not extend to touch arcuate surface of pipe member 1 l in the closedcondition of the fixture.

The pipe member 11 is provided at either end with an arcuate sectionreferred to as a helper which is spaced from the pipe member 11.

Helper 22 is supported by bracket 23 mounted on rods 24 and 25projecting from the support means 13. A spring 26 is mounted on rod 24to yieldingly urge helper 22 forwardly. Likewise, helper 27 is supportedby bracket 28 mounted on rods 29 and 30 with spring 31 yieldingly urgingthe helper 27 forwardly.

The hose in this fixture in order to allow the couplings to be pushed inboth ends at the same time, the distance over the outside curvature hasto be reduced to the same distance as the inside curvature. Toaccomplish this, the straight-line distance is disrupted and spread overhills and valleys. This pulls the outside curvature of the hose into ashorter distance and, in effect, straightens the hose. This is what thefixture with the three cylindrical knobs 19, 20 and 21 on the inside orface of pipe member 12 will accomplish. The helpers on thestationeryhalf of the fixture help to pull the ends in alignment andmake a more positive alignment in a shorter period of time.

In use, the hose is placed in the fixture and the clamping cylinderactuated to bring pipe member 12 toward pipe member 11 with the guidemeans 16, 17 and 18 maintaining the proper alignment. The helpers pushthe hose ends into position and the knobs distort the hose in order toprovide a substantially straight hose within the fixture. After this hasoccurred, the coupling members can be forced into the ends of the tubeby cylinders applying axial force.

It is necessary that the ends of the hose protrude out beyond thefixtures so that the hose can expand at the ends when the glad hand andcoupling are inserted therein. The hose ends have a tendency to curve sothat the ends are not in a straight line with the shank of the glad handor coupling. The helper members attempt to correct this situation andaccomplish this on the side of the hose against which it is applied,however the hose tip away from the helper members can still havecurvature so that on occasion the hose end collapses rather than receivethe insertion of glad hand or coupling. Accordingly the fixturedisclosed in FIGS. 2 through 6 has been developed.

The device illustrated in FIGS. 2 6 includes a pair of spaced arcuatepipe members 32 and 33 having the same axis for their arcuate surfaces,and first support means 34. Each of the pipe members are attached tosupport means 34 by a respective bracket 35 or 36.

A third pipe member 37 having an arcuate surface in facing relationshipwith the arcuate surface of the spaced members 32 and 33 is supported byclamping cylinder 38 by coupling bracket 39. This support is constructedand arranged to move the pipe member 37 toward and away from members 32and 33. The clamping cylinder can be pneumatic, hydraulic or anycombination or variation known in the art.

Guide means in the form of rods 40, 41 and 42 project from the firstsupport means 34 beneath the pipe members. The lowermost edge of each ofthe pipe member 37 touches the rods.

The third member 37 is wedge shaped in the direction of its movement sothat upon being moved toward the members 32 and 33, in the plane oftheir axis, the wedge point 37' can intercept the axis of members 32 and33. It is noted that each of the members 32 and 33 is provided with aninboard lip designated by the numerals 32 and 33 respectively to allowmovement of the center portion of hose 43 and alignment of the endsthereof.

In use, the house is placed in the fixture and the clamping cylinderactuated to bring pipe member 37 toward pipe members 32 and 33. Theguide means 40, 41 and 42 are useful in maintaining the properalignment, although under certain circumstances the guide members maynot be necessary. The wedge point 37 strikes the curved outer surface ofthe hose pressing the central portion of the hose inwardly between thepositions shown in H68. 3 and 4 wherein the position as illustrated inFIG. 4 the ends of the hose are aligned and the coupling members can beforced into hose ends.

It is noted that in the position of the hose shown in FIG. 3 the hoseends are aligned on the same axis which is the axis of members 32 and 33and that the center axis of the hose in the center has crossed throughand passed the axis of members 32 and 33.

Thus it is seen that with the device shown herein coupling members canbe applied to curved hose in maintenance shop work in substantially thesame manner as they had been applied to straight hosing.

lclaim:

1. A device for holding curved tubing so that the ends thereof aresubstantially aligned including a air of spaced members, respectivefirst and second arcuate surfaces of said spaced members having a singleaxis, a third member, third and fourth arcuate surfaces of said thirdmember in facing relationship respectively with said first and secondarcuate surfaces, said third member being relatively movable toward andaway from said spaced members and wedge shaped between said third andfourth arcuate surfaces in the plane of the axis of said spaced memberswhereby the point of the wedge can press against the curved outersurface of said tubing to reverse the direction of curvature thereofwhile the ends thereof are maintained in alignment by said arcuatesurfaces.

2. A device for holding curved tubing in accordance with claim 1 inwhich the point of the wedge of said third member is equidistant at alltimes from each of said spaced members.

3. A device for holding curved tubing in accordance with claim 2 inwhich each of said spaced members is provided with an inboard lip toallow movement of the hose.

4. A device for holding curved tubing in accordance with claim 2 so thatin the aligned condition of the tube ends the axis thereof is the axisof said spaced members and the center axis of the tube has crossedthrough and passed the axis of said spaced members.

5. A device for holding tubing in accordance with claim 2 in which aplurality of guide means are provided beneath said members formaintaining the alignment of said members during movement thereof.

i 1 II

1. A device for holding curved tubing so that the ends thereof aresubstantially aligned including a pair of spaced members, respectivefirst and second arcuate surfaces of said spaced members having a singleaxis, a third member, third and fourth arcuate surfaces of said thirdmember in facing relationship respectively with said first and secondarcuate surfaces, said third member being relatively movable toward andaway from said spaced members and wedge shaped between said third andfourth arcuate surfaces in the plane of the axis of said spaced memberswhereby the point of the wedge can press against the curved outersurface of said tubing to reverse the direction of curvature thereofwhile the ends thereof are maintained in alignment by said arcuatesurfaces.
 1. A device for holding curved tubing so that the ends thereofare substantially aligned including a pair of spaced members, respectivefirst and second arcuate surfaces of said spaced members having a singleaxis, a third member, third and fourth arcuate surfaces of said thirdmember in facing relationship respectively with said first and secondarcuate surfaces, said third member being relatively movable toward andaway from said spaced members and wedge shaped between said third andfourth arcuate surfaces in the plane of the axis of said spaced memberswhereby the point of the wedge can press against the curved outersurface of said tubing to reverse the direction of curvature thereofwhile the ends thereof are maintained in alignment by said arcuatesurfaces.
 2. A device for holding curved tubing in accordance with claim1 in which the point of the wedge of said third member is equidistant atall times from each of said spaced members.
 3. A device for holdingcurved tubing in accordance with claim 2 in which each of said spacedmembers is provided with an inboard lip to allow movement of the hose.4. A device for holding curved tubing in accordance with claim 2 so thatin the aligned condition of the tube ends the axis thereof is the axisof said spaced members and the center axis of the tube has crossedthrough and passed the axis of said spaced members.